Monthly Archives: September 2008

I’ve been reading tons about the proposed plan to bail out Wall Street (and save us all?) What I twittered this morning (“I’m seriously worried that the Bush admin is trying to pull another fast one with the Paulson plan — time to call my congressional reps.”) is still pretty much how I feel tonight.

I wish I could just summarize for you this complicated situation. Instead, I’ll just list some of the articles I’ve read and let you draw your own conclusions. (I am proud to say that I did call the office of my local congressman (Mike Doyle) to express my concerns.)

Brian Knowlton and David M. Herszenhorn, “Bipartisan Support for Wall St. Rescue Plan Emerges,” The New York Times, September 22, 2008, sec. Business, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/business/22talkshow.html?hp.

“Democrats Begin to Set Own Bailout Terms – NYTimes.com,” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/business/22paulson.html?hp=&pagewanted=all.

John Harwood and Michael Cooper, “2 Candidates Back Bailout, With Caveats,” The New York Times, September 22, 2008, sec. U.S. / Politics, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/us/politics/22campaign.html?pagewanted=all.

“John Steele Gordon on the Financial Mess: Greed, Stupidity, Delusion and Some More Greed – Freakonomics – Opinion – New York Times Blog,” http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/john-steele-gordon-on-the-financial-mess-greed-stupidity-delusion-and-some-more-greed/.

Deciding which of the candidates running for president of the USA must surely be one of the most important decisions as an American citizen can make this fall. As a Canadian living in the US as a permanent resident, I don’t have the vote. However, I would urge anyone reading this blog who can vote to vote for Barack Obama in November. I won’t attempt to make an argument today for why you should vote for Obama. Instead, I’ll simply express my support for Obama and follow my friend Lloyd’s lead by embedding one of Obama’s latest political ads (“Plan for Change“):

Lloyd quotes the text of the speech, which you can find in many places, including an analysis of the speech in the NY Timestoday, which concluded that the ad “is substantive, providing a simple, easy-to-follow outline of Mr. Obama’s campaign promises, but its length and monotonous visuals could lose the viewer’s attention.”

One of the first pieces of official business for me upon relocating to Pittsburgh this fall was to obtain a library card. I’ve been very happy with the Squirrel Hill branch of our public library (the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh). It’s not a large building, and there are not a lot of books at the branch — but the selection and decor are winning. Moreover, the reading chairs provide a nice view of Forbes Avenue while you immerse yourself in your book or magazine.

The American presidential election has become quite a horse race. As a political junky, I like the follow the latest predictions of who will win and why. Websites that I have found helpful for this purpose include: